Newcastle United midfielder Ki Sung-yueng will return to Tyneside for assessment on a hamstring injury after he was sent away from the Asian Cup, according to The Chronicle.
The newspaper claims that the 29-year-old, who had been participating at the tournament, could potentially be out until early February after the setback.
The Magpies are thought to be questioning South Korea’s management of the player’s injury, with the knock now feared to be worse than first thought.
It remains to be seen whether Ki will be allowed to return to his country after his assessment, but with central midfielders Jonjo Shelvey and Mohamed Diame already injured this news will be cause for concern at St James’ Park.
OPINION
This is worrying for Newcastle. The fact that the player has been sent away from the tournament suggests that this is a fairly serious setback, otherwise he would have remained with his country for treatment before playing a further part in the competition. This will have been the one thing Magpies fans feared when Ki left for international duty, particularly as he had emerged as a key cog in the team’s midfield before leaving. It’s no surprise that Newcastle are thought to be unhappy with South Korea because this injury has been around for a little while now. Ki picked it up earlier in the tournament but for some reason it has seemingly gotten worse. As mentioned, Shelvey and Diame are already sidelined, meaning that Rafael Benitez cannot really afford any more injuries in the middle of the park. Hopefully Ki can make a swift recovery and be back in a Newcastle shirt soon.
